Wednesday, March 30th, 8 am. Dusk Shine’s Library.

Derpy couldn’t believe how different Ponyville felt with the winter snows gone and nearly a week of sunshine to liven everypony’s spirits. During her morning trip to the train station, she must have seen fifty ponies out and about, and everypony just glowed with vibrant energy; it was nearly enough to make a mare jump for joy.

Placing the last three packages from Canterlot into the mail cage, Derpy snapped the lock in place and scooped up her bag, straightening her hat before she reopened the mail shed door. After all, a mare had to look professional when delivering the mail! Sorting through last night’s deliveries, she stopped to smile a little. “Hey! This one’s from AJ’s cousin Braeburn! He hasn’t visited in ages. I should get it to her, quick. I’m sure she’ll be giddy to hear from her cousin!”

Turning away from the train station, Derpy continued to organize the mail in her sack as she walked, humming quietly to herself. The sudden wicked beat of wings overhead was only a minor distraction until a stallion’s voice called down at her in tones she didn’t like, not one bit. “Hey, you! Mailmare. Yes, you! I’ve got an important letter from Princess Cadence for the local magistrate. Just where is his manor? And how come you ponies don’t have a proper office set up? I’ve flown two laps around this little village and can’t even find your landing pad!”

Against her better nature, Derpy felt the sudden urge to snap at the stallion, but the flashy colors of the royal mail made her pause, and hold her tongue. After all, she had a similar uniform in the closet at home, and she knew the kind of respect ponies were meant to give that outfit, even if this stallion appeared to have let that go to his head. Pointing towards Dusk’s library, she called back up to him. “The magistrate? You mean Dusk? His home is the tree house, can’t miss it, it’s also the town library. But I don’t recommend trying to land on his balcony. It goes straight into his bedroom and you might get your neck rung if Applejack or Rarity stayed over last night. Need me to guide you, or-”

But the cocksure stallion hadn’t been listening, instead turning around in place to follow the direction she pointed, and as soon as he’d sighted Dusk’s home, he’d shot off in a blitz of speed. Shrugging at the ignorance of some ponies, Derpy returned to her happy stroll in the sunshine, a whistled tune quickly returning to her lips.

From his seat at the kitchen table, Dusk could just hear the sound of Barb's cry of shock as the bathroom door opened. About to gladly abandon the disturbingly bland breakfast meal plan that Nurse Redheart had cooked up and ordered Barb to make him eat "until further notice", it was the ridiculous conversation between mare and dragoness that followed that convinced him the meal before him was more interesting.

"Bronze!!! By the Light! Why didn't you put a shirt on!? This isn't some kind of brothel or day spa!"

Bronze in turn sounded bored in reply as she closed the bathroom door. "What? But my room’s like ten feet away, and it's not like anypony else is around this early in the morning."

The dragoness sounded frustrated or flustered and Dusk could hear her hurl the laundry she was carrying to the ground. "That's not the point! Besides Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, who visit often enough, Dusk’s in the next room! Or are you hoping he'll come look?!"

The sudden sound of brisk knocking from somewhere upstairs made Dusk look up from his breakfast, glad for something to interrupt the argument in the nearby hall. Clearing his throat to be heard over the women, he called out, “Is… is that somepony knocking on my balcony door?”

Bronze fell suddenly silent in mid-sentence, but as Dusk strained to make out the distant noise, he could still hear her now near-whispered retort. "Why didn't you tell me he wasn't in the library!? Why is he in the kitchen!? Barb, I just about walked in there, and I'm practically naked!”

Barb, without a hint of pity in her voice, called back at Dusk. "Good thing Rarity went home with Sweetie last night, I’ll go find out who it is, Dusk! And as for you, maybe next time, you'll remember to put a shirt on before you eat. Just ‘cause Rarity and AJ aren’t here, doesn’t mean everypony here wants to see you strutting around naked!”

As Barb stomped off upstairs Bronze muttered back hotly. "I think you're just jealous because dragons don’t grow breasts.”

Shaking his head, Dusk bit into the fresh grape that Barb had managed to find somewhere, enjoying at least a little of the salad he seemed doomed to spend the rest of his life eating. Unable to help but correct Bronze’s comment, he lifted his voice to be sure the mare could hear him. “Could you please go easy on Barb, Bronze? She is still getting used to me having so many mares in my life, when it used to just be the two of us and maybe an occasional visit from Shining, Princess Cadence or Princess Celestia. And actually, some female dragons of anthro species do grow breasts, but they tend to be very small, and only in the seven known species that give live birth.”

From the other side of the wall, Dusk could hear Bronze muttering quietly to herself, trailing off as she sharply slammed her bedroom door closed. Shrugging to himself, Dusk returned to his breakfast, picking again at it quietly.

As the knocking had fallen off while he had talked to Bronze, Dusk was beginning to wonder just what was keeping Barb so long. He strained his hearing to the limit and tried to use his magic to extend it into his bedroom. Finally finding some success, Dusk could just make out Barb's self-satisfied voice. "And maybe next time, you'll wait outside until you're invited in!"

Any questions he had were violently cut off as a horrific bang shattered both his concentration and his spell. Ears ringing from the incredible noise, Dusk defensively covered them with his hands as a violently throbbing and quickly-spreading headache set in. "Dear Celestia, what was that!?"

A comforting hand on his shoulder came as a shock, and Dusk would have jumped from his seat at the table if it wasn’t for Bronze’s strong grip. Twisting to the side to look up at her, he realized her lips were moving, but it was a struggle to make out what she was saying over the constant ringing. Releasing his ears, he jerked a thumb towards the staircase. “Bronze, what was that loud banging noise?! Is Barb okay?!”

Bronze winced as he questioned her, and cupping her hands around her mouth, she seemed to shout, and Dusk was finally able to hear her over the ringing noise. “What noise, Dusk? You just started shouting all of a sudden. Is everything alright?”

Groaning a little, Dusk tried to ignore the ongoing ringing in his ears and his growing migraine, taking advantage of Bronze’s distraction to stand up and turn to leave the room, but Barb entered with a pegasus stallion in the royal messenger’s uniform and a look on his face that Dusk could read like an open book. Addressing the little dragoness, Dusk remained worried, but was buoyed by her boastful grin. "Barb? What was that banging noise upstairs? My ears are still ringing, but Bronze says she didn't hear anything."

Freezing mid-step, Barb looked up at Bronze then back to Dusk, unable to hide her worry. “I, err, what? No, no really loud noises. Me and Gilded Parchment here had a bit of an etiquette lesson, but he caught on and went back out onto your balcony and came to the front door, like a proper messenger. I-I suppose I did slam your bedroom door a little hard. Why, are you okay? You’re talking kinda loudly.”

Dusk took a moment to look at the cowed royal messenger in his brilliant crimson uniform, using the time to piece together what Barb had said. The ringing noise in his ears was finally dying down and he could make things out better, but Barb had been soft-spoken, and he was glad to have the stranger as an excuse to collect himself. “I suppose that’s what I get for using a hearing spell without properly researching it first; at least I didn’t do any permanent damage.”

Realizing his lack of answer had the dragoness fidgeting with her tail, Dusk stepped to her side and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry, Barb. I guess I learned my lesson to not spy in on anypony.” Grinning down at her, Dusk didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder, and turned instead to face the messenger, his voice more official. “Barb said your name was Gilded Parchment? You’re a royal messenger by uniform, but not mine, nor one of the ones normally used by Princess Celestia or Luna. Are you new? And why’d you come to my balcony rather than the front door?”

Looking thoroughly sheepish, the stallion latched onto the one fact Dusk had mentioned and clung to it like a life raft. “It’s- That is, I’m a new messenger working at Canterlot Hospital, but Princess Cadence needed me to deliver you a letter on her behalf, magistrate! She’s only ever given me two letters before, for her majesty, and I was always ordered to deliver them directly to her balcony. I-I just thought that was how you all liked to have your letters delivered. Then the dragoness nearly bit my brand new boot off, and she kept yelling and breathing fire, and, well, I-I apologize, sir.”

Glaring down at the all-too-casual dragon who was playing innocent and pretending he wasn’t holding her shoulder, Dusk understood at least some of why the stallion had gotten so worked up. Releasing Barb, he rolled his eyes at her, but tried to remain polite, giving the stallion a nod. “I apologize, things have been tense this morning, and I’m sure Barb only bit your shoe out of respect for the fine workmanship. What is Princess Cadence’s message?”

Excited now, the stallion swiftly unhooked the letter scroll from the gold hooks on his suit just below his breast, kneeling down before Dusk and offering out the sealed roll. Just as Dusk reached for it, Bronze stepped in between them, snatching it up herself, a wicked glint in her eye. “Sorry, magistrate, but an unknown stallion delivering an unknown message? Sounds like something you shouldn’t handle until I’ve checked to make sure it’s safe.”

The stallion, clearly growing heated at the sudden interruption of his formal duties, attempted to both stand up, and snag the letter back from the mare, but Bronze had expected that, and kept it at arm’s length while gripping his right wrist with her free hand, twisting it around behind his back and up until his fingers nearly touched his hair. Her voice was calm, but sharp. “As Dusk’s Vicarius, I can’t let him risk it. Behave and let me read, and I’ll let you go without breaking your arm, colt.”

Suddenly realizing how much trouble he was in, even if he clearly didn’t know what her title meant, the stallion went very still, staring wide-eyed up at Dusk as he began to formulate his words quite carefully. Meanwhile, Bronze expertly used one hand to pop open the sealed scroll case, and slid out the letter, reading under her breath as she still held the stallion’s arm at what looked to be a rather painful extension. “I-Forgive me, magistrate. I didn’t mean any offence, it’s just-I’ve never had anypony check to make sure royal mail was secure before. Your… head guard? Is clearly a talented mare.”

If his attempt at flattery, or quick-witted problem solving had any effect on Bronze, she didn’t show it, and thrust the open scroll at Dusk. “Can’t smell any poison, and nothing sharp in the case that might have been a threat. I’m sorry to say, I think he is telling the truth. Oh, and Princess Cadence says she can’t come this week.”

“What!?” Now really worried, Dusk moved away from Barb and snatched up the letter with both hands, quickly reading what little had been written and glaring at the page the whole time. The ringing in his ears had fully faded, but the headache felt like it was only getting worse.

“Dearest Dusk Shine,

Forgive me for the late notice, but I must delay my visit to Ponyville until, hopefully, sometime mid-week at the earliest. Three ponies came down with wingrott all at once in Canterlot and I think we really have a chance to test my latest cure; it’s a stroke of luck we found them all before it had progressed any further or spread. Can you also apologize to Scootaloo for me? I know how much she has been looking forward to my visit; we couldn’t spend much time together when I was there before Hearth’s Warming, and I know she wants to show me the tricks Dash has been teaching her. I promise as soon as I’m cleared of quarantine, I’ll reschedule with you both immediately.

Forever your adoring foalsitter,

Cadence”

Groaning a little, Dusk squeezed down at the bridge of his nose to distract himself from Cadence’s words. He had been hoping her visit might at least save him from the diet plan if nothing else. Folding up the letter, Dusk passed it to Barb, and fished a silver bit from his money pouch, momentarily testing the alarm spell he’d placed on his money pouch out of habit to make sure he didn’t need to renew the aging magic. Looking to the stallion, Dusk offered the silver bit with a smile. “Thank you for your swift flight, Gilded. You did a good job. In the future, I suggest you spend some of your downtime researching the more obscure titles, as some of the nobility use rare ones to confuse ponies who aren’t familiar with the odder ones. Bronze, if you could release him and see him on his way back to Canterlot?” He looked over to Barb who had taken to reading his letter as well, clearing his throat to get her attention. “Barb, I’m quite done with breakfast. If you could brew me up a pot of Nurse Redheart’s relaxation tea, I'd be grateful. Use the stronger stuff you keep hidden under the sink, where you think I haven't checked. I’ve suddenly got a very bad feeling about the rest of this week and think I should take my nurse’s orders to go lay down occasionally.”

Thursday, March 31st, 11am, Fluttershy’s Cottage.

Fluttershy happily hummed to herself, picking the first of the small green and red apples from the little tree. Watching as Angel helped out by watering the other beds in the greenhouse, she giggled a little at him, calling out. “First, we get five whole apples, next we’ll get some carrots for you. Wouldn’t that be nice, Angel Bunny? I must remember to thank AJ for her help in finding the right seedling for my greenhouse. I don’t think I’d ever have so much success if it wasn’t for her…”

Scowling in a way she found simply adorable, Angel continued down his line, muttering openly. “Yes, thank AJ. It’s not like she waters it every second day, or trims the dead branches, or helps hunt the pests all winter long.”

Depositing the small basket of what little ripe fruit the greenhouse had produced, Fluttershy returned to Angel’s side, scratching a finger soothingly between his long and floppy ears. “Oh, come now Angel! AJ comes and checks up on things once a week, and you have to admit, it’s nice she takes so much time out of her usual work to help us!”

Unable to stop the rhythmic thumping of his foot at her scratching, the bunny gave her a mild glare, but let it pass, nodding a little. “Sure, sure. At least she’s better than Dusk. All he does is drag you to dangerous places and cause trouble.”

Blushing to herself, Fluttershy gave a happy sigh, feeling almost wistful for a moment. “Oh hush! He’s a great stallion. Now finish up and I’ll make lunch after I check in on some of the critters, alright?”

Grumphing but giving in, Angel gave her a little nod, turning around and returning to his work, but Fluttershy could see his fluffy little ball tail wiggle a little as he worked, reassuring her he wasn’t that grumpy.

Fetching her basket, she stepped through the double doors that shielded the fragile plants from the chilly nights. Outside, she paused on the step for a moment so she could enjoy the gentle breeze that blew through her clearing. "Well, better make sure everyone is okay!"

It was just after she had said goodbye to Mrs. Duck and Mrs. Mallard at the pond and had started making her way home that Fluttershy stopped to watch some pigeons fly overhead, when she suddenly felt a fuzzy critter rubbing itself against her ankle.

Looking down to see just who her newfound friend was, Fluttershy was astounded to see the cutest little bundle of brilliant azure blue fur she'd ever seen. Shockingly, its massive emerald eyes were even sweeter, simply begging for her attention. Watching for only a moment as the tiny creature circled around her ankles on four transparent wings that were hardly the size of its body, and so fragile, she wasn’t sure how it managed to stay aloft. A sudden, happy noise from the little creature made her jump a little, it’s shrill tone was still tender, as if the little thing was singing for her attention. Unable to help herself, she knelt down, pulling the smallest apple from her basket and holding it out to the cute little creature.

For a moment, the little creature leaned in, sniffing for a moment at the apple she offered. Worried the apple was too big, Fluttershy was about to split the apple in half when the fuzzy ball suddenly spread its maw wide open, its whole body expanding wider than the apple. Lunging forward with speed that surprised her for its tiny size and fragile wings, it snapped up the apple and without any sign of visible teeth, reduced the fruit to nothing in seconds, the meal giving the little creature the energy to fly higher, diving into her long pink locks and cuddling in against her cheek while its happy cries grew louder.

Delighted, Fluttershy carefully used a free finger to tickle at one of the creature’s cheeks. “You’re so adorable, but I’ve never seen something like you before, lil’ guy. Maybe I should take you home and see if one of old Mrs. Autumn Darling's books has a record of a creature like you. If not, well, I’m sure Dusk will be able to research just what you are.”

12pm, Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie drew the last tray from the roaring oven, adding it to the tower of baked goods, their combined scents plunging the bakery into an inferno of heat and rich scents. Pushing the cart out to the front room, she gave Mrs. Cake a big grin. "Oven #2 is finished! Can you believe we're going to make it?!"

Double checking the still-hot muffins before taking out a pad of notepaper, Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie a quick nod, though she looked far more stressed than her assistant. "Still, as much of an honor as it is to bake such a massive delivery for the castle, I wish Princess Celestia had given us a few extra days’ warning! That makes 43 dozen cherry muffins. Seven more, then start the blueberry!"

Returning to the ovens, Pinkie joined Mr. Cake as he was in the middle of loading tray after tray into the mammoth oven #2. Forced to yell so he could hear her over the roaring oven, Pinkie relayed Mrs. Cake's orders. "She said seven more dozen of the cherry, then start the blueberry! Do we start mixing the peach and cream batch now?!"

Giving a nervous laugh, the stallion resealed the massive door before taking out a spare towel so he could wipe his brow. "Not yet, Pinkie. Gotta clean the mixing bowls we used earlier first. I'm sure glad her majesty paid up-front, but I wish she'd warned us sooner!"

Picking up three of the four-foot tall mixing bowls, Pinkie happily lugged them to the sink, plunging the first one deep into the prepared water and going straight to work. "Why would more warning have helped, Mr. Cake? It's not like we could have gotten more than a six dozen at a time in Oven #4, even if it was working."

Pushing open the back door and audibly sighing loud enough, so she could hear him over the three roaring ovens, Mr. Cake lit up a smoke and stood just outside the door step, letting the spring breeze cool him off a little. Finally, he answered as Pinkie moved on to the second heavy mixing bowl. "Because we could have hired Bonbon to help, or your friend Applejack if things are quiet enough on the farm, maybe Berry Punch or Carrot Top. I'm sure that the labor board could have supplied a few more names if they weren’t all too busy to help. As it is, we're going to be working on this all night. Are you sure you're up to waiting for the train alone, Pinkie?"

Tossing the final bowl into the hot water, Pinkie grinned as wide as she could, nodding enthusiastically. "Of course! I'll catch a catnap between batches, and it will be no problem at all! Now let's go! No time to waste!"

2pm, Dusk Shine’s Library.

Something simply felt wrong, yet for the life of him, Dusk couldn't tell what it was. Picking up the books on his desk for the third time, he turned to stare at Barb from the corner of his eye as she dusted some of the lower shelves across the room.

Attempting to speak casually, Dusk cleared his throat, his voice as calm as he could manage. "Oh, Barb... I know I was having a bad day yesterday, but- well, any chance you got a little carried away and cleaned my desk while I was in bed yesterday? You know, with my headache and all?"

Ready to lower the boom on her, Dusk watched as Barb stood up, and gave him a rather concerned look. "What do you mean, Dusk? You know I only clean up plates and recap your inkwell."

“So then how do you explain how this book had been moved from here,” Dusk twisted the novel a quarter of an inch clockwise to the right, “To here?”

Rarity turned around on the step ladder, putting down her feather duster and crossing her arms a little. “Now, Dusk- That’s just being ridiculous! How could you possibly know a book got moved that little!?”

He had them! Had them both, now! Almost wanting to gloat for a moment, Dusk looked from one to the other, grinning a little bit. “Because, it’s also clearly missing approximately 37 pages!” Grinning, just a little bit at how they’d walked right into it, Dusk looked for any sign of guilt, any hint of weakness in their united front. ”Well?! Want to admit what you did, now? Did you knock it off my desk and some pages came loose and you threw them away? Or maybe you sneezed again while dusting, Barb, and accidentally burnt the missing pages? Or worse! Did you spill some tea while cleaning up and accidently destroy my copy, and went to Rarity for help, but she didn’t have a copy, but she did manage to contact her uncle Rare Quill in Canterlot, and he scoured through his extensive libraries, but he didn’t have an exact copy, so instead you had to use this one he did find and simply hope I wouldn’t notice that it was a different version of the same book, and you couldn’t remember how I had it set on the desk so you just tossed it down like this, and hoped I’d feel silly for questioning you for a book being slightly rotated a quarter inch to the right! Well? Did you!?”

Stepping down from the stepladder, Rarity put a hand on Barb’s shoulder, and gave a little shake of her head. “But… Dusk, darling~ I don’t have an uncle called Rare Quill who lives in Canterlot and owns a bookstore!”

Barb smiled momentarily up at Rarity and blushed a little, but looked back at Dusk, rolling her eyes. “Besides, Dusk! You might have a great memory, but even if you do, don’t you think it’s going a little too far to think you can guess the weight of a book? Just check the version if you think we really did change something like that! You’re making up crazier stories than Pinkie Pie!”

Dusk was about to point out how he had no problem remembering the approximate weight of any book he had carried to school over the last decade, but a voice hardly above a whisper came from the main hall entrance of the library, and derailed his line of thought. "Oh my. If you're all this busy, should I come back later?"

Dusk could tell the others had also not noticed Fluttershy’s arrival, as they joined him in looking at her as she cowered at the entranceway. Dusk's eye was drawn to the slightest movement in her hair, and so Rarity answered her first. "Not at all, darling! Come in, it's refreshing to see you in town so early in the day. What can we do for you?"

Blushing under the heavy weight of her pink bangs, Fluttershy stepped forward and lifted a hand into her thick locks, giving a sudden shocked gasp as she drew from her hair three tiny fuzzy creatures. Incredulous, she stared down at the three fragile-looking balls of fur. "Oh- my! Were you pregnant little one? Why didn't you tell me?! That's so wonderful!"

The larger of the three pressed up against Fluttershy's cheek, trilling with excitement and excitedly flapping its wings. Dusk crossed the room to her side and carefully cupped her hand from below, watching the two 'babies' who were easily more than half the size of the one Fluttershy had clearly identified as the mother. "My oh, my. Just what are these little creatures, Fluttershy?

Rarity had followed him over and instantly began to gush, clutching her hands together against her cheek. "Why, they're simply adorable!"

Fluttershy visibly relaxed and gave a little giggle. "I don't know what they are called. I checked through every one of Autumn Darling's books about rare Everfree creatures, but I couldn't find a single reference to what they are! That's why I brought her- well, them all, accidently, here. I wanted to see if you had something about them in your library; it’s much more extensive than mine."

Dusk winced a little, but the yellow creature hopped up and flew into his face, crying out in playful delight while circling his head and lightly kissing over his cheeks. Unable to help himself, he laughed and cuddled the creature close, scratching at the back of its head. "Alright, alright. I'll try my best to find something about them, Fluttershy. Did you figure out what they eat yet?"

Fluttershy had been watching Rarity playing with the brown twin, who was cuddling up in her hair and making excited, crooning noises while pressing against Rarity’s fingers. Reminded by Dusk’s voice, she turned back to him and perked up, excited, her tail wagged across her hips. "Oh! Well I didn't try very much, but the poor dear was so hungry, she ate an apple from my greenhouse before I could even break it up for her."

Impressed, Dusk lifted the little creature up in the palm of his hand, studying it closely again. "Fascinating. So small, but able to eat an entire apple? Clearly they must be all stomach. If you think they're okay to separate from their mother, I'd like to keep one to study while I look for any relevant text."

Rarity's lighthearted laughter drew their attention back to her, and to the tiny brown-furred creature that had begun to braid her hair together using its four legs. Worried at first, Fluttershy looked down to the mother, who had again settled into her hair and was making herself a nest just below her right ear. "Well, it seems that their mother isn't worried, so I suppose I can't play the one concerned for everypony. Just be careful with them; who knows how fragile they are at such a young age!?"

Laughing still, Rarity stepped over and hugged Fluttershy tightly. "Oh, don't worry so much! I simply must get this darling thing home and show it to Sweetie Belle. They are so playful! Besides, what could go wrong?"

7pm, Fluttershy’s Cottage.

Fluttershy was beginning to worry. The cute little creature hadn't grown much bigger, but she continued to produce new children at two or three an hour. And she was ALWAYS hungry, eating anything Fluttershy put before her. She was glad she'd asked Dusk to look into it; she wondered just how many babies the poor thing might have before she finished her litter. "I'm just scared for her health, Angel! Nopony should have a hundred babies in a single litter, right?"

The hare, offering her his usual dismissive shrug, just carried away the empty fruit basket while muttering to himself. "Some species know better than to have no more than a dozen kids in a litter. Just ‘cause you ponies rarely have more than one or two at a time..."

The sudden knocking echoed up from the main floor, making her jump. “Oh, my! I wasn’t expecting any guests. I wonder who that might be?” Taking a moment to straighten her dress, Fluttershy waved a little at the growing hoard, her voice gentle. “You babies just stay here and rest up. Poor things, I’ll probably have to go to town in the morning for more food if you all don’t calm down soon.”

Stepping out of the spare bedroom and closing the door behind herself, Fluttershy rushed downstairs, worried her delay might convince whoever had knocked that she wasn't available to help with whatever emergency had brought them here so late.

Rushing to open the door, she didn't remember the twins who'd nested in her hair were still there until she was already opening the door, their soft private language only just loud enough for her to hear, even if she didn’t understand it yet. Internally, she whispered up at them, hoping they’d listen to her. “Just keep quiet little ones, I’ll get you back to your family right away.”

Pulling open the door, the sight of Dash and Applejack standing around and waiting so casually for her to arrive was reassuring, and was a clear sign nothing was wrong. That simple thought alone gave her a chance to catch her breath and relax, waving a little to them. “Oh, my. Hello girls! What can I do for you two this late at night?”

Dash grinned, rushing forward and cupping up her hands, squeezing her wrists, while her wings danced in visible excitement. “Well, we were over visiting Dusk and he was showing us the little buzzy fluffy bug thing you found and said you had another one and didn’t know how to take care of it. Since we had nothing to do, and he’s still busy running tests on it, we figured we’d come here and take a look at yours instead!”

Looking from Dash to AJ, Fluttershy tried to hunt for what was behind Dash’s excitement. Applejack gave her a smile and shrug. “She’s been charmed. I think it’s cause the one at Dusk’s was small and cute and hung around her ear, dancing and singing a lot. Suddenly, she’s as excitable as you are about meeting a new critter.”

Fluttershy blushed, shaking her head a little. “I don’t get that excited about new critters, do I?”

Taking just a moment to answer her, Rainbow Dash leaned in, parted Fluttershy’s thick locks and gasped with excitement. “With the way Barb talks about the first time you two meet, for sure. Oh, wow! You got two more of them?! That’s fantastic! Are they like the other one? It loved hiding in my tail and singing when I flew around!”

With the world outside her hair revealed to them, the little creatures’ conversation ended, but rather than cower in fear, they jumped free of their nest, the first one dancing across Dash’s hands and into her short cropped hair, buzzing around her ear before resuming it’s odd singsong voice, while the second casually flew over to Applejack, kissing the tip of her nose before settling on top of her hat, curling up again as if it planned to nest there. While AJ tried to act unimpressed, Dash snorted a little with laughter and carefully clutched her hands around the tiny creature, holding it close and rubbing her cheek against its fur.

Applejack stepped a little closer to Fluttershy, squeezing her hand and smiling a little. “I hardly ever see Dash this girly. Next thing you know, she’ll be asking Rarity for a dress for the Gala.”

With her bangs abandoned, Fluttershy coiled her hair around her hand and gave it a little tug, biting at her lower lip, leaning into Applejack for support. “Well… to tell the truth girls, I didn’t find more, the momma keeps giving birth to more and more of the poor little things. I’m… I’m kinda getting concerned that she won't survive, it’s been hours and she’s still not done.”

Watching one another for a moment, Fluttershy didn’t notice her two friends come to the same decision at once. Applejack reached out, gently gripping her hand and pulling Fluttershy’s attention. “Maybe we could help you out, sugarcube? ‘Least we could do is take these two off your hands. You do look a little overwhelmed, and it’s not like we couldn’t handle taking care of another critter.”

Looking to Dash, Fluttershy realized her friend was looking expectant and excited. Still feeling weary of what was happening with the mother upstairs, Fluttershy gnawed nervously at the tips of her hair. “I-... I wouldn’t want to force them on you two. And if you did take them, you have to be very careful not to let them breed. I’ve got my hands full with the litter upstairs as it is.”

Dash wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight and squeezing her close. “Oh, don’t be such a worry-wart! We’re glad to help, Fluttershy! And if you get a little overwhelmed, let us know, we can always help out with the new litter if you need some more hands.”

11pm, Dusk’s Cottage.

Weary, Dusk dragged his hand across his face, closing yet another book and drinking the last few sips of the tea. He didn't have to look out the window, he knew what time it was, knew how close it was to midnight. Knew Redheart had been over and lectured Bronze on his sleeping habits. Knew Bronze had left her bedroom door open when she’d gone to bed, and would likely be out soon enough to twist his ear and send him to bed. “As if Redheart’s tea wouldn’t do that by itself soon enough. But these creatures don’t make any sense! And short of dissecting this one, I can’t seem to find any hint of them in any of my books!”

Openly feeling frustrated despite his best efforts, but drugged by the rich tea, he cracked a yawn, his fingers dancing over the desk, finding the book on historical disasters that was alone in the unread pile. A sudden flare of memories fought back through his distorted thoughts. “Wait… wasn’t… in the list of chapters, wasn’t one about- about… something like... ‘The Hunger That Never Abates: The Parasprites’?”

Resisting another harsh yawn and opening the book again, Dusk forced his eyes to open and started focusing, running a finger down the line of titles for the chapters, muttering aloud to himself to keep his mind focused. “The Greatest Civil War in Equestrian History: The Batpony Revolt. The Grand Bug Empire: The Changelings. Changelings: Invasions of Equestria. Changelings: Inter-Hive Wars in Equestrian Territory. The Changelings: A Millennium of Endless Raids. The Lord of all Chaos: Discord. The Most Prideful of Warriors: The Griffon Empire. Dark Goddess of Shadows: Nightmare Moon. The Changelings’ Greatest Mistake: The Sirens. Magic’s Greatest Failing: The Smooze. Emperor of the Lost North, Sombra. The Unstoppable Hate of the Mad Lord Tirek. The True Threat to All Life: The Windigo.”

Frustrated, Dusk slammed the book closed. Giving up for the night, he turned from his desk, muttering a little to himself. “I still say the book feels lighter than it did when I started reading it last week!” Wandering upstairs to his room, the tiny buzzing noise of the fluffy critter burrowing its way into his long bangs made him smile a little, and took the hard edge off his stressed mind.

Author's Notes:

Yes, I did have far too much fun with the chapter titles, why do you ask?